A Thousand Paper Cranes
by Fox of Spades
Summary: Happiness is such an elusive thing. People believe they've got it, but then it slips through their fingers and flits out of reach, so they chase after it because they know it's worth chasing.


**My first attempt at a Kegerou Project fanfic ^^ I hope you guys enjoy the one shot. **

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Happiness is such an elusive thing. People believe they've got it, but then it slips through their fingers and flits out of reach, so they chase after it because they know it's worth chasing.

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The sky was a mixture of hues, there were bright blues mingled with the orange of the setting sun. They melded into each other, two opposing colors on a single canvas. It was a lovely sight and Ayano couldn't help but stare. Her elbows were propped on the windowsill and her cheek rested on the palm of her hand. "Hey, dad," the eight year old called out as a light breeze made its way through the window and played with her hair. "We should camp out here sometime. It would be lots of fun, just you, mom and me!" She suggested as her smile brightened and lit up her entire face.

Kenjirou looked around the teacher's lounge and smiled kindly at his eight year old daughter. "Tell you what, we'll camp out in the living room. We can't do it here, Ayano." He stretched his arm and reached out to ruffle his daughter's hair. She smiled even brighter and gave him an eager nod.

"Okay, dad. That sounds like a lot of fun." She turned around so her eyes were focused on her dad. Her excited expression shifting into one filled with mischief. "So," the girl walked up to her father, wrapped her arms around his neck and glanced at all the papers he was checking. "When are you gonna finish?" She let out a giggle before hugging her dad tight.

He couldn't help but smile. "Patience, little grasshopper. Maybe in an hour or so." Kenjirou answered as his eyes flitted from his class record to the papers strewn about his desk.

"Awww, what am I s'posed to do here?" Ayano crossed her hands over her chest and puffed up her cheeks as a form of disagreement.

"I told you to stay at home with mom, didn't I?" Kenjirou dropped his pen on the desk and turned so he'd be facing his daughter. "Tell you what, how about I tell you an old legend." His daughter's expression brightened and soon enough she was kneeling on the floor with her elbows on his lap and her wide eyes staring up at him expectantly. Kenjirou reached for her head and tucked a stray lock of hair behind his daughter's ear. "They say if you make a thousand paper cranes you get a wish." He watched as Ayano's eyes widened in awe and Kenjirou pulled a blank sheet of paper off of his desk.

"Really?" Ayano asked as she reached to tug the paper out of her father's hand.

"Yep," Kenjirou leaned back into his chair and stared at all the work he had in front of him. "If you make a thousand paper cranes, you'll get a wish."

The girl nodded her head up and down enthusiastically before rushing towards one of the desks, her silly smile was replaced with a serious expression and her eyes revealed just how determined she was. "I'm going to make a thousand paper cranes!" She declared before grinning broadly at her father. "Then I'll wish for our family's happiness!"

He chuckled, he didn't need wishes to be happy. He already was.

* * *

"Big sister Ayano!" Seto called out with a distraught expression. "Kano-kun made Kido-chan cry again and we can't get her to stop." Seto frowned and looked like he was about to burst into tears as well. The boy tugged on the sleeve of Ayano's jacket and held onto it tightly before letting go.

"It's okay, Seto-kun." She gave him a comforting smile and ruffled his hair fondly. "Big sister Ayano will fix everything." She brought a fist to her chest and nodded triumphantly. "You'll help me fix it too, you know." Seto stared up at her and hung onto her every word. "We'll be just like heroes!" She held his hand and he began leading her to the living room. There Kido was crying on the sofa and Kano was trying his darnedest to cheer her up with silly faces and animated gestures.

"K-Kido, I was just joking!" Kano sputtered as he began flailing his arms around. "I really was, please,please, please stop crying." He gave are a silly smile despite the uncertainty in his cat-like eyes. "Pretty please with cherries on top?" That was when he noticed Seto and Ayano. Kano gave them a guilty expression and tried to look as nonchalant as possible when he shrugged. "I was only joking, big sis."He mumbled before smiling broadly once more and sitting on the couch beside Kido.

"It's okay Kano-kun, just leave it to me." Ayano offered as she smiled at the boy then took a seat beside Kido. The older girl wrapped an arm around the smaller girl's shoulders and hugged her close. "There, there Kido-chan. I'm sure Kano-kun didn't mean it." She hugged the girl tighter and Kido's sobbing began to turn into little hiccups.

Kido's fingers clenched tightly around Ayano's shirt. "I-I don't want to disappear." She cried as the older girl began stroking her hair.

"You won't." Kano spoke in a firm voice despite the guilty look on his face. "I'd never let that happen and neither would Seto or big sis! I was only kidding, Kido." He squirmed uncomfortably on the seat beside her. "I was a mean jerk, I'm really sorry."

Seto nodded in agreement. "We'd never let that happen Kido-chan." He smiled kindly and this seemed to work.

"See Kido-chan, now, now, if you guys settle down I might tell you something wonderful." Ayano added in, immediately both boys sat on the floor and stared at her intently while Kido clung close to Ayano with curious eyes and a slight smile.

"Oooh, what are you going to tell us?" Kano grinned widely.

"Eheheh," The girl wasn't sure, so she gave them a wide smile and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I don't really know, do you guys want to hear a few stories or play?"

Seto tilted his head to the side as he tried to think of a question. "Big sister Ayano, why do you make paper cranes?"

The older girl brightened up at the question and asked the three kids to lean in close. "Well you see, if you make a thousand paper cranes you get a wish granted." She nodded her head eagerly as she stared at each one of them. The older girl brought her pointer finger to her lips as a thin smile stretched across her face. "But don't tell anyone," there was a slight pause. "It's a secret, just like our identities because we're heroes!"

The three children looked up at her and hung on to every word.

* * *

On her mother's funeral she brought a bag filled with nothing but paper cranes.

Kido, Seto and Kano were bawling, so she placed a smile on her face even though her heart was breaking into a million pieces. "It will be okay," her voice cracked as she walked in front of the younger three. Ayano smiled again despite the tears the streamed down her cheeks and the three children hugged her tight. She stifled sobs as she tried to count every paper crane she had ever folded.

There were 468 cranes to be exact, not enough to bring back her mother. Not enough at all, she would need a thousand paper cranes, nothing more and nothing less.

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It was snowing...

Shintaro stood ankle-deep in the white and icy powder known as snow. The sky was a dull gray and snowflakes fluttered softly to the ground. Ayano walked beside him with a bright smile and a red scarf trailing behind her. "The snow sure is pretty, right, Shintaro-kun?"

The boy's eyes focused on the snow before they flitted to Ayano. He squinted and watched as the winter wind played with her hair and mussed it up. It blew her brown locks this way and that and she looked even more carefree than usual. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold and white puffs of air left her mouth every time she spoke.

For a moment Shinataro found himself staring. "Huh? Oh yeah, I guess it's alright..." He turned his head and stared at nothing in particular, but the boy felt rather embarrassed for staring and his cheeks turned a shade darker. He absentmindedly took off his jacket and handed it the girl who walked beside him. "Here, you look a bit cold." He said awkwardly as he tried to continue walking against the blustering breeze.

"Oh, thanks!" Ayano accepted the jacket happily and put it on with a smile. "Red is my favorite color, but I think it suits you more than it suits me."

"Red?" Shinataro raised his eyebrows in question. "Is it because of how lively the color looks?" He asked and a part of him believed that was the reason.

"No, it's because red is the color of a hero!" She declared as she hopped forward, and threw half her scarf over Shintaro.

"Oi!" the boy yelled out as he nearly slipped, Ayano how ever grabbed him by the arm and steadied him. "What was that for?"

"Well," She looked up at him and smile even brighter. "You looked cold too, Shinataro-kun."

He smile slightly then shrugged in reply. The two walked on and no further words were said. Ayano pulled a piece of paper and clasped it between both hands, she fumbled with it for a few moments before deciding to create another paper crane. "Crane number 846." Ayano whispered to herself.

This piqued Shintaro's interest. The boy stared at the crane in her hands and sighed because really, wishes were nothing but childish gestures. However, he decided to play along and not question the girl's sense of reality. "Hmm, what are you planning to wish for when you reach a thousand?" He expected it to be something silly or happy, but her reaction was not what he was expecting.

Ayano stared at him with sad eyes before forcing another smile onto her face. "It's a secret, Shintaro-kun." She brought a pointer finger to her mouth as her sad sounding laugh was drowned out by the winter breeze.

* * *

She stared at the setting sun with tears in her eyes.

"If I get red eyes for myself...I'll be able to save everyone, right?" It was past school hours and the girl stood by herself on the rooftop. She couldn't stop tears from streaming down her cheeks but her resolve was stronger than ever. She took shaky steps towards the edge of the roof and smiled brokenly. "If helping everyone means dying, then it will be okay." She held on to red scarf around her neck while strangled sobs left her throat.

"No, I-I'll keep smiling for everyone." Ayano forced a smile. "Please don't hurt anyone anymore." The girl added before she finally jumped.

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Her body lay motionless, and curled between her lifeless fingers was a single paper crane with the number 1000 scrawled across its side. The once white paper was tainted red with her blood - the color of a hero.

When she died she left a trail of paper cranes in her wake.

* * *

It was a snowy day...

**T**Shintaro watched as the members of mekakushi dan messed around. Momo and Kido were assaulting Kano with snowballs while Mary and Seto tried to make snowmen. It was days like this when he remembered her the most. Shintaro took a piece of paper out of his jacket and began folding a paper crane.

"Master? What are you doing?" Ene asked suddenly.

"Wha!" Shintaro yelled out as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I-I thought you were in Momo's phone!"

"You didn't look like you were having any fun at all, so I decided to check on you!" Came a cheery sounding voice.

Shintaro didn't reply, instead he stared at the badly folder paper crane in his hand. "Hey Ene..." he whispered. "You know, if you make a thousand paper cranes you get a wish."

"Eh? I thought master didn't believe in childish things like wishes!" Ene grinned mischievously as she stared at him in disbelief.

"Yeah, and why don't you just go play with the others or something." He complained as he looked ahead with unfocused eyes. He clenched his hands and crumpled the paper crane between his fingers. "A thousand paper cranes." He whispered in a sad voice. "All I'll need are a thousand paper cranes."

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He closes his eyes and wishes that wherever Ayano is she's happy.

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**Thanks for taking the time to read this ^^ I hope you enjoyed and reviews and criticism are greatly appreciated.**


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